Brush/roller applicator for skin care

ABSTRACT

A skin care applicator having a handle, brush, and roller is disclosed. The roller may be retained by upper and lower retainers engaged with each to hold the center of the roller in place between the retainers. The engagement of the retainers could be a threadable engagement between threads of each retainer and a user the ability to threadably disengage the two to remove and clean the roller. The lower retainer could have an inner surface extending away from the handle outwardly and concavely, and the upper retainer could have aperture and an inner surface extending away from the aperture outwardly and concavely. The lower retainer could include an aperture and be a mirror image of the upper retainer. Where the roller is a sphere, the lower retainer may be shaped as an outer surface of a hemisphere. IN some embodiments, the skin care product is a solid oil

BACKGROUND

There are numerous skin care products that are beneficial to peopleincluding moisturizers and oils for topical application to anindividual's skin. For example, face oils are helpful in fightingagainst extremely dry skin. If a user applies a moisturizer to his orher dry skin, face oils may then be applied to seal in any hydrationeffects provided by the moisturizer.

Oils may take the form of being a liquid or a solid, and applicatorshave been developed for each. Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1D, a liquidoil (or mixture of oils) may be applied to the area of skin withrefillable applicator 100 comprised of container 102, roller 104, andcoupler 106 positioned at one end of container 102. Container 102 holdsthe oil, and coupler 106 couples roller 104 to container 102 whileallowing roller 104 to roll or spin within coupler 106. To useapplicator 100, the user holding container 102 places roller 104 againstthe skin in a position so that, when applicator 100 is moved around theskin, a thin layer of oil is dispensed between coupler 106 and roller104 as it 104 rolls or spins on the skin, resulting with oil beingapplied to the area on the skin.

To refill container 102, manufacturers have employed differentconfigurations. In one configuration, roller 104 is removable fromcoupler 106. As shown in FIG. 1B, the user may apply a squeezing orpinching force against coupler 106 by, for instance, pressing a card 108against it until roller 104 is dislodged or removed from coupler 106 asshown in FIG. 1C. AS a result, the user is provided with an openingabove coupler 106 through which container 102 may be refilled. Inaddition, with its removal, it easier to clean roller 104.

In another configuration, roller 104 and coupler 106 may be formed asone unit 110 as shown in FIG. 1D. When inserted into container 102, africtionally engagement between the inner surface of container 102 andsurface 112 holds unit 110 in place at the end of container 102. Torefill container 102, the user pulls unit 110 from container 112 untilit is removed, providing the user an opening above container 102 throughwhich it may be refilled. In addition, with the removal of unit 110, itis easier to clean roller 104.

Referring to FIGS. 1E and 1F, a solid oil may be applied to the skin byapplicator 120 comprised of container 122 and solid oil 124 that,although solid at room temperature, melts when applied to skin. Withapplicator 120, a roller may not necessary to apply the melted solid tothe skin when a sufficient amount of force is applied to the area on theskin.

While applicator 120 facilitates the user's application of sufficientforce, a brush made up of bristles may not. If the user tries to applyfacial oil with a brush, it may not be possible for the user to applythe oil with a sufficient amount of force necessary to receive thebenefits of facial oil without first bending the bristles.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed toan applicator comprising a handle, a brush, and a roller assembly of aroller, a first retainer, and a second retainer. The use of thisapplicator may improve the application of a skin care product andcleaning of the roller after the applicator has been used by the user.

In one aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed hereinare directed to an applicator having a handle, a brush, and a roller isdisclosed. The roller may be retained by two retainers engaged to holdthe center of the roller in place between the retainers. Where the tworetainers include threads, the engagement could be a threadableengagement between threads of each to facilitate a person's ability tothreadably disengage the two to remove and clean the roller. Oneretainer could have an inner surface extending away from the handleoutwardly and concavely, and the other retainer could have aperture andan inner surface extending away from the aperture outwardly andconcavely. Both retainers could include apertures that could be mirrorimages of each other. Where the roller is a sphere, the lower retainermay be shaped as an outer surface of a hemisphere.

In a further aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosedherein are directed to an exemplary method for employing an applicatorwherein the brush is adapted to receive an application of a skin careproduct and apply the skin care product to an area of a person's skin,and the roller is adapted to massage the skin care product about thearea of the person's skin where the skin care product was applied. Insome embodiments, the skin care product is a solid oil which melts uponthe application on a person's skin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the inventive embodiments, reference ismade to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A through 1F illustrate prior art applicators, in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIGS. 2A through 2C illustrate side and cross sectional views of anapplicator, in accordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 3A through 3F illustrate an exemplary method for using theapplicator, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, several specific details are presented toprovide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein. One skilled in the relevant art willrecognize, however, that the inventive concepts disclosed herein can bepracticed without one or more of the specific details or in combinationwith other components. In other instances, well-known implementations oroperations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuringaspects of various embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosedherein.

FIGS. 2A through 2C illustrate an embodiment of applicator 200 suitablefor implementation of the inventive concepts described herein.Applicator 200 includes handle 202, brush 204 at one end of handle 202,and roller assembly 206 at the other end of handle 202 comprised ofroller 208 positioned between lower retainer 210 and upper retainer 212,where one or both of these may include with an aperture and/or be amirror image of each other with apertures. For the purpose ofillustration and not of limitation, roller 208 is a sphere. In someembodiments, handle 202 is linear, roller assembly 206 is attachable toone end of handle 202, and/or lower and upper retainers 210 and 212 areconfigured to engage each other to hold the center of roller 208 inplace with reference to them (or between them) as roller 208 rolls orspins about its center in any direction; in other words, roller 208 isnot inhibited by either upper retainer 210 or lower retainer 212 fromrolling or spinning about its center. In some embodiments, lower andupper retainers 210 and 212 may be configured with complementary threads214 and 216, respectively, to facilitate the engagement throughthreadable engagement 218 and a disengagement to facilitate a user'sunobstructed access to and removal of roller 208. Although handle 202and receptacle 210 are shown as separate components, both could bemanufactured as one integral component in some embodiments.

The inner surfaces of lower and upper retainers 210 and 212 areconfigured with shapes or designs to engage the surface of roller 208 asit spins about its center. Lower retainer 210 includes inner surface220. The shape of inner surface 220 may be selected to match the outersurface of roller 208. Inner surface 220 is shaped as an outer surfaceof a hemisphere to engage a portion of the spherical surface of roller208, permitting roller 208 to roll about its center as applicator 200 isemployed by the user. As shown, inner surface 220 extends away from thecenter of handle 202 outwardly and concavely until terminating at side222, the point at which the width of receptacle 210 is its widest and/orapproximately equal to diameter of roller 208. In some embodiments, aportion of the outer surface of receptacle 210 includes threads 214extending away from side 222 and towards the center of handle 202reaching its end.

Upper retainer 212 includes an aperture 226 of width 228 through whichroller 208 extends as its center is held in place by lower and upperretainers 210 and 212. Here, width 228 is less than diameter 224, suchthat less than half of the surface area of roller 208 extends thoughaperture 226 and is exposed to the user's skin when applicator 200 isemployed by the user. The shape of inner surface 230 may be selected tomatch the outer surface of roller 208. In some embodiments, innersurface 230 is shaped as a slice or portion of an outer surface of ahemisphere to engage approximately half of the spherical surface ofroller 208, permitting roller 208 to roll about its center as applicator200 is employed by the user. When threadably engaged with receptacle210, inner surface 230 extends away from aperture 226 outwardly andconcavely towards receptacle 210 until terminating at side 232, thepoint at which the width of cap 212 is its widest and/or approximatelyequal to diameter 224 of roller 208. In some embodiments, a portion ofinner surface 230 includes threads 216 extending away from both side 232and aperture 226 until reaching its end.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A through 3F, an exemplary method for usingapplicator 200 is illustrated. FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a personholding applicator 200 and applying a skin care product to brush 204; insome embodiments, the bristles of brush 204 may be synthetic fibersand/or are adapted to receive the skin care product. For the purposes ofillustration and not of limitation, the skin care product discussed inthis method is a solid oil at room temperature. FIG. 3C illustrates theperson brushing the oil on an area of dry skin (as illustrated by thespotted skin), where brush is adapted to apply the oil to a person'sface. FIG. 3D illustrates a moistened area of skin after the person hasbrushed oil to the skin (the moistened area illustrated by a darkenedarea), where the solid oil has melted upon the application to the skin.FIG. 3E illustrates the person messaging the skin with roller 208 whiledistributing the oil about the area of dry skin; in some embodiments,roller 208 may be comprised of pink quartz. FIG. 3F illustrates theresult after the person has distributed oil 234 about the area of dryskin (as indicated by the absence of the spots).

As used herein, the term “embodiment” means an embodiment that serves toillustrate by way of example but not limitation.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the precedingexamples and embodiments are exemplary and not limiting to the broadscope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. It is intended thatall modifications, permutations, enhancements, equivalents, andimprovements thereto that are apparent to those skilled in the art upona reading of the specification and a study of the drawings are includedwithin the broad scope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. It istherefore intended that the following appended claims include all suchmodifications, permutations, enhancements, equivalents, and improvementsfalling within the broad scope of the inventive concepts disclosedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A skin care applicator, comprising: a handle; anda roller at one end of the handle retained between a first retainerengaged with a second retainer to hold the center of the roller in placebetween the first and second retainers, such that the roller is notinhibited from spinning about its center.
 2. The skin care applicator ofclaim 1, wherein the handle is linearly shaped.
 3. The skin careapplicator of claim 1, wherein the engagement of the first retainer withthe second retainer is a threadable engagement between threads of each.4. The skin care applicator of claim 1, wherein the retained roller isremovable from the applicator by disengaging the first retainer from thesecond retainer, thereby facilitating a person's unobstructed access toand removal of the roller.
 5. The skin care applicator of claim 4,wherein the disengagement of the first retainer from the second retaineris a threadable disengagement between threads of each.
 6. The skin careapplicator of claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the first retainerextends away from the handle outwardly and concavely until terminatingat a first side; and an inner surface of the second retainer extendsaway from an aperture of the second retainer outwardly and concavelyuntil terminating at a second side, such that the roller extends throughthe aperture, and the first side engages the second side.
 7. The skincare applicator of claim 6, wherein the engagement between the first andsecond retainers holding the center of the roller in place between thefirst and second retainers ends with an engagement of the first andsecond sides.
 8. The skin care applicator of claim 6, wherein the innersurface of the second retainer extends beyond the second side andincludes threads for engaging threads of the first retainer.
 9. The skincare applicator of claim 8, wherein the engagement between the first andsecond retainers holding the center of the roller in place between thefirst and second retainers ends with a threadable engagement of thefirst and second sides.
 10. The skin care applicator of claim 6, whereinthe first retainer includes an aperture from which it extends.
 11. Theskin care applicator of claim 7, wherein the roller is comprised of aspherical surface; and the inner surface of the first retainer is shapedas an outer surface of a hemisphere to engage approximately half of thespherical surface of roller.
 12. The skin care applicator of claim 11,wherein the width of the first retainer at the first side and the widthof the second side are approximately equal the diameter of the roller.13. The skin care applicator of claim 1, further comprising: a brush ata second end of the handle.
 14. The skin care applicator of claim 13,wherein the brush is adapted to receive an application of a skin careproduct.
 15. The skin care applicator of claim 14, wherein the skin careproduct is a solid comprised of an oil.
 16. The skin care applicator ofclaim 14, wherein the brush is adapted to apply the skin care product toan area of a person's skin.
 17. The skin care applicator of claim 15,wherein the brush is adapted to apply the oil to an area of a person'sskin.
 18. The skin care applicator of claim 16, wherein the roller isadapted to massage the skin care product about the area of the person'sskin.
 19. The skin care applicator of claim 17, wherein the roller isadapted to massage the oil about the area of the person's skin.
 20. Theskin care applicator of claim 13, wherein bristles of the brush arecomprised of synthetic fibers and the roller is comprised of pinkquartz.